A cross section of John Cage compositions

‘Credo in Us’

‘Sonatas and Interludes’

‘4‘33’

‘Atlas Eclipticalis’

‘Roaratorio’

‘Four6’

‘Credo in Us’

This early percussion piece, written when Cage first came to New York in 1942, demonstrates his revolutionary approach to percussion, but he also includes a record player among the instruments. Yes, he invented sampling here.

‘Sonatas and Interludes’

This is Cage’s 1948 magnum opus for prepared piano, and his first masterpiece. Gentle, dazzling sonorities and almost neoclassical structures take a listener through an hour-long journey toward tranquillity.

‘4‘33’

The so-called silent piece is, in fact, about how much sound is out there without the listener’s contribution. Cage called it his favorite work, even though after its premiere in 1952, people he knew were so angry they never spoke to him again. The performer remains silent for 4 minutes and 33 seconds, and the audience observes its environment.

‘Atlas Eclipticalis’

Performed here by James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

For this 1962 orchestra piece, Cage converted star charts into instrumental parts. Every player has something different, and the graphic notation requires decisions on the part of the performers. During a scandalous early New York Philharmonic performance, the players rebelled and Leonard Bernstein lost control of the orchestra. But when approached with seriousness, you can hear the stars twinkle.

‘Roaratorio’

In Cage’s later years, he became so obsessed by James Joyce’s “Finnegans Wake” that he traveled throughout Ireland with a sound crew recording every sound mentioned in “Wake.” He then turned them into this joyous electronic collage that is played along with a score for live Irish folk musicians and for Cage, himself, intoning.

‘Four6’

Cage’s last works were his number pieces. They are titled for the number of performers, and when he wrote, say, more than one quartet, he used superscripts to indicate which one. “Four6” was composed shortly before his death, and it was the last piece Cage performed in. The other performers were soprano Joan La Barbara, percussionist William Winant and pianist Leonard Stein. At the time, all were Californians, and Stein was Cage’s old classmate in Schoenberg’s courses at UCLA. The circle, for the Angeleno Cage, closed.